Semiconductor processing demands a chain of highly accurate instruments. During the etching process, material is moved from a semiconductor substrate in accordance with a masked pattern, by a bombardment of ions. In particular, one or more reactive gases such as fluorocarbon, oxygen or boron trichloride are treated to a certain temperature and flow rate by several components.
Problematically, as gas moves through a gas supply line and is treated to a certain temperature and mass flow rate, the gas often cools and, as a result, forms condensation along the gas supply line. The condensation can collect at joints along the gas supply line to the extent that there is blockage preventing an accurate delivery of gas. To address the issue, surface mounted heaters are placed along the gas supply line to keep the gas above a certain temperature.
However, because there are multiple sizes of components used in semiconductor processing, conventional surface mounted heaters are matched to a particular type of component. For example, components can use a KIS or a Toron type of seal to connect the component to a manifold, each of which has a different size.
What is needed is a surface mounted heater with a universal seal fitting, to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art.